The Lost Akatsuki Member
by Me Heart Gaara
Summary: Obake Kaze is a girl from the Obake clan that lived in Konoha a long time ago, when her entire clan died because of an epidemic, Kaze left Konoha and joined Akatsuki as an information gatherer. This is her story. Kiba x Kaze
1. the beginning

"Look, nii-chan!! The cherry trees are blooming."

"Kaze, don't go too far!" A light blond hair boy with light blue eyes called after the little girl. The little girl giggled as she spun around in the storm of cherry blossom petals falling around her.

"Who are you?" Kaze turned around to see a young boy with spiky brown hair, two red triangles adorning his cheeks and big eyes looking at her.

"I…I'm Obake Kaze. Who are you?"

"Inuzuka Kiba." The little boy blushed as he continued to stare at her. She smiled.

"Kaze!!" The girl's brother ran up grabbing her.

"Hahahaha, Ichi-nii!" The little girl giggled.

"Oh, who's this?"

"This is Kiba."

"Hello Kiba, I'm Obake Ichijin." He shook hands with the little boy as Kaze climbed on his shoulders. Kiba, while shaking hands with the 10 year old boy, stood transfixed by the eyes of Kaze. One was bright green and the other was bright blue. He felt that he could trust her but at the same time he knew they held some sort of dangerous power.

"We have to go Kiba; do you need me to walk you home?" Ichijin asked, thus breaking his trance.

"Ah…no, I'll be fine. I'm getting my first dog today!"

"That's so cool, Kiba. Bring him with you next time, okay." Kaze said with a huge smile.

"I will!" Kiba waved good-bye."

*

"Mommy, I met a pretty girl today." Kiba said as he patted a tiny little dog in his lap.

"Really, what's her name?"

"Obake Kaze." Kiba's mom's eyes grew wide.

"Did you say Obake?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"Kiba, you can't go near the Obake clan. They have strange kekkai-genkais and you could be hurt. They like to betray friendships."

"But Kaze didn't seem bad."

"Kiba, they are out of our league. By the age of 5 they are at jounin level."

"Really!"

"It's nothing to be excited about Kiba. It's great that a clan of their superiority chose to be a part of Konoha, but, they just can't be trusted. Don't go near that girl again, okay?" Kiba looked down, sad that he could not meet his new friend again.

"Okay."

*

"Nii-chan...sob sob sob…" Kiba heard a voice in the trees as he walked Akamaru, his dog.

He looked up to see Kaze sitting in the tree, sobbing. He contemplated just walking by pretending not to hear, but then he decided to climb up to see what was wrong. Placing Akamaru in his jacket, Kiba climbed up on the lowest limb and began to jump from branch to branch as they learned in ninja school. When he got to where Kaze was, he knelt down and said, "Ummm…Hey Kaze, what's wrong?"

"Kiba?...sniffle…my…my brother was kidnapped and I'll probably never see him again." Kaze burst into a new set of sobs, but Kiba stood once again enthralled by her eyes. When he realized he was staring, he shook his head and whispered,

"I'm sorry." Kaze sniffled again and then looked a furry thing in Kiba's jacket.

"What's that?"

"This is Akamaru, would you like to hold him, it might cheer you up?"

"*sniff…okay." Kaze gently lifted Akamaru onto her lap. Akamaru licked her face gently, understanding that she was sad. Kaze giggled sadly and hugged Akamaru close to her heart. "Thank you Kiba. I feel a little better." Kaze looked Kiba in the eyes and smiled. Kiba stared at her eyes. They were so pretty. He was glad that they were friends. "_Obakes like to betray friendships._" His mother's words rang in his ears.

"I have to go Kaze." Kiba said reluctantly, for he knew he could never see her again.

"Thanks again, Kiba." Kaze smiled a sad smile and handed Akamaru back to Kiba. Kiba jumped out of the tree and began to run back home, leaving Kaze behind.

*

(2 weeks later)

"Daddy, Mommy, get up." Kaze shook her parents as they slept on, sweat pouring off of their faces. Kaze ran out of the house when they wouldn't wake up and ran to the neighbors, but nobody answered. When she entered, they were still sleeping, all sweaty, too. Kaze gasped and went to the next house, and the next, and the next. She was scared.

"Help me…HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!" Kaze yelled in the center of the Obake neighborhood, but nobody answered her, only silence. Kaze ran out of the gate towards the Hokage's office. People stared at her, but she ran on. When she reached she tried to go through the door but two jounin stopped her and told her to go home. Tears were streaming down her face as she pleaded with them to let her see the Hokage, but they didn't know she was part of the Obake clan and continued to explain to her that children could not see the Hokage. Kaze ran away and when she got to an alleyway, she decided to try out that new jutsu she was working on. In a gust of wind Kaze disappeared and reappeared in the Hokage's office. It worked!

"Lord Hokage." The third lord looked at the crying child in front of him.

"What's wrong, child?" Kaze looked up at him and he was captivated by those eyes. Then he noticed the symbol around the bandanna she wore around her neck. "Obake," he whispered.

"My family, all my friends are all sick they…" Kaze fainted in a cold sweat.

*

"Kaze, wake up." Kaze opened her eyes a crack and saw a beautiful woman with a blue diamond on her forehead. "Oh, thank goodness, she's okay."

"Mommy," Kaze choked out with a scratchy throat. Water was given to her before Tsunade answered.

"I'm so sorry, honey." Tsunade hugged the little girl. Kaze's eyes were wide with shock.

"Is my mommy…gone?" Tsunade looked at her with apologetic eyes.

*

"Kaze, this is Lord Hyuuga. You will live with them from now on."

"Hi! I'm Hinata, Kaze. I'm so happy, we can be like sisters. I'll be the older one because you're only four."

"Hinata." Lord Hyuuga hushed his daughter with a commanding voice. He then pulled her aside and whispered to her. "Now's not the time to smile, Hinata. She just lost her entire family in this epidemic. She is the only one left. Please be a bit more sympathetic." Hinata nodded and stood quietly by her father. A six year old Negi came in (he is one year older than Hinata and the other mains) and looked at the blonde girl sitting on the bed, looking like a ghost. Her head came up and she looked at him. And like everyone else, her eyes seemed to hold a power over him. "Negi, it's time to go." Negi looked up at Lord Hyuuga, his uncle. As they walked out of the room, Negi looked back at the girl, she still looked at him. On his way out Negi concluded that he would never forget such sad, lonely, powerful eyes.

*

That night, Kaze got out of the bed. She was alone in the little hospital room. Lady Tsunade, one of the three great ninja, already left the village. Kaze jumped out of the window and teleported herself in a gust of wind to the Obake neighborhood. There she packed a traveling pack and packed ninja bags with kunai and shruikin, then she grabbed a sword off the wall. She placed her Konoha headband around her waist, with a big slash across the leaf, and the bandanna with the Obake symbol around her neck.

She walked through the village coming to a part of the wall, far away from the main gate. She placed a hand on it and went right through as if she was a ghost. Obake means ghost in Japanese so the Obakes' kekkai-genkai is ghost-like, able to walk through walls, turn invisible, and control the winds, with out the use of chakra. They also are immune to the effects of genjutsu and the sharingan. Their eyes also showed some of their power. Blue eyes signified that you could control a person's mind and body, by just looking at them. Green eyes, which have not been seen in a hundred years, allow the owner to control the tailed beasts. Kaze had both, and thus could control both humans and beasts. After she got through the wall, she began to walk. As she came over a hill, she looked back at her birthplace, A tear rolled down her cheek and she turned away thinking, "_I'll never come back here_."

*

A red haired pierced man was walking through the streets of the village Hidden in the Rain, when he came across a little girl with light blonde hair sleeping on a bench. He walked over to her and turned her over and his eyes fell on the symbol around her neck. He smirked and picked her up and carried her back to the tower in the middle of the city.

"Honey? Are you awake?" Kaze's eyes opened slowly and saw a girl with black hair and a paper flower tied up in it. She was wearing a black coat with red clouds on it. Kaze's eyes wandered behind the woman to a red haired man with black piercings and wearing the same coat.

"Who are you?" Kaze asked.

"My name is Konan, and his is Pain." The black haired girl answered. "We are in a group called Akatsuki, whose major goal is world peace."

"Akatsuki…peace…" Kaze was still a little groggy from her nap. "Are you the only members?"

"No, our leader is…" They both looked at the doorway as a figure wearing the same coat and an orange mask that looked like a lollipop with a hole in the right eye space walked in.

"So this is the Obake girl you were telling me about, Pain." The man looked at her and his sharingan was visible through the hole, but it had no effect on Kaze whatsoever. "You were right, she is an Obake. What's your name, child."

"K…Kaze."

"Well Kaze, how would you like to join our group? You'll be able to travel a lot and you will get paid."

"I can travel?" Kaze thought about it and concluded that world peace was a good thing. "Okay, I guess I'll join you."

"Very good." The leader placed a ring in her hand and gave her a coat and a hat. The coat was far too big for her so Konan hemmed it up a bit for her and gave her some string for the ring which was too big for her tiny fingers. "Now, before we begin our ultimate mission, we need more members."

"I…I can go." Kaze stammered. She didn't really feel like fighting for peace at the moment so she thought that finding members might be better.

"You want to find new members?" Pain asked.

"Yes." Kaze had a new look on her face. It went from scared, to confident.

"Very well, you may go." The orange masked man said.

*

Kaze was in the Village Hidden in the Rocks, listening to rumors and to conversations, hoping to pick up on some information that might lead to the discovery of a new member. She sighed; so far nobody was talking about anything useful to her. Just then a huge explosion was heard to her left. Debris scattered everywhere.

"Deidara!! Your experiments have cost me my shop!! Get out you worthless child." A thirteen year old boy with blond hair, bangs that covered one eye, and short in the back was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and thrown onto a pile of rocks.

"My experiments are art!" Deidara yelled as he walked out of the debris of the shop. Kaze looked at him and smiled. He might be a good addition to the group.

"Excuse me."

"Geez, no one appreciates my work, hmm."

"Uh…excuse me."

"WHAT?!!" Deidara whirled around with a frown on his face, which quickly faded when he saw it was a little girl he was yelling at. "Ahh…sorry, what, hmm?" Kaze took off her hat and her eyes captivated him.

"Umm… My name is Kaze, and…I was wondering if you wanted to join a group that I'm a part of." Kaze smiled. Deidara looked at her a little suspicious.

"What kind of group, hmm?"

"Well, the goal is world peace, and we need members."

"World peace?" Deidara laughed at that. "_If they don't like the idea of world peace, just tell them that their power will be increased if they join._" Pain's words echoed in Kaze's mind.

"Also, if you join, your power will increase." Kaze looked up at him again.

"Now power is much more appealing than 'world peace,' hmm." Deidara laughed.

"So you'll join?" Kaze said with a pleading look.

"I guess." Deidara put his arms behind his head looking carefree.

"Great!! Meet me outside the village at midnight." Kaze said as she walked away waving.

"Is that girl really that young, or does this 'group' make four-year-old girls members. Hmmm." Deidara walked to his apartment to get ready to leave, for good.

*

Two figures wearing black coats with red clouds walked into the Village Hidden in the Sand. One was really short and the other one seemed to tower over her.

"Kaze, what are we doing here?"

"In the little village we stopped in last night, I heard a story about a puppet master."

"Puppets…"

"Yes. Sasori of the Red Sand, I think. I was hoping that he would join Akatsuki."

"Fine, let's find the guy and get going, I'm bored." Kaze giggled at Deidara. "Hey you," Deidara said to a young man that they passed. "Can you tell us where we can find a guy by the name of Sasori…?"

"You shouldn't seek that guy out, boy. He's dangerous. The last person who went to his house never came out. The villagers think he experiments on those that dare go to his home, making them into…" The man motioned them closer and whispered, "human puppets."

"Thanks for the warning, buddy, but can you just tell us where he lives." The man sighed and pointed to a raggedy old house. As Kaze and Deidara walked towards it, Deidara asked Kaze, "Are you sure you want to ask this guy? He seems like a psycho, hmm."

"He's powerful, though. I was told to gather powerful people."

"Ah, so that means that you thought I was really powerful, hmm?" Kaze looked at him.

"You could use a little work."

"WHAT?!!" Kaze giggled as they walked up to the door. Deidara knocked and they waited. The door squeaked open and the two entered.

"Hello?" Kaze called out. The door slammed behind them and this huge tail type thing came towards them. Kaze pushed Deidara to the floor and let the tail go through her. She walked to the side, so that the tail was not in the middle of her chest anymore. Deidara looked at her, shocked. A figure came out of the shadows, a large…puppet?

"Who are you?" the puppet asked.

"I'm Kaze, and I was wondering if you wanted to join a group that we are a part of. The group is called Akatsuki and our goal is world peace. Also, if you join, you could become more powerful than you are now." Kaze breathed in. She said that entire thing in one breath because she was still shaken up by the attack Sasori used on them.

"How does this group give me more power?"

"I'm not exactly sure, I wasn't told how, but I do know you won't regret joining."

"Sounds interesting." The puppet opened up and a red haired boy stepped out. "I'm Sasori of the Red Sand." He held out his hand to Kaze, and she grabbed his hand with a huge smile on her face. Sasori then looked at Deidara. "Who is this weakling?"

"What?! I'm not a weakling!"

"You were saved by a three year old."

"I'm four!"

"I'm sorry." Sasori then noticed her eyes. He was confused; he never saw such eyes before. He stood there for a while enchanted.

"Come on Kaze, we don't need this freak." Sasori looked at Deidara and pulled his hand towards himself and Deidara was tripped by chakra threads that Sasori attached to Deidara's legs.

"I'll join this, Akatsuki."

"Thank you so much!" Kaze smiled and told him to get all his stuff and to meet her and Deidara outside the village at midnight.

*

(Back at the Village Hidden in the Rain)

"Good work Kaze." Pain said as he looked at Deidara and Sasori. "Will you go out and find some more?"

"Sure." Kaze smiled and in a gust of wind, disappeared.

"She's a cute child." Deidara said after she left.

"I agree." Sasori said.

*

"The Village Hidden in the Mist is so huge." Kaze said to herself as she walked into the misty gate. She looked around a few shops and then walked into a field. The mist suddenly got thicker and she put up her guard, listening. She heard a splash of a nearby pond and looked around her. Then she jumped out of the way just in time for a huge bandaged sword to come crashing down right where she was.

"If you're another bounty hunter, you won't live to collect your money." The man swung his sword again and Kaze ducked and dodged.

"Wait…I'm not…" another swing of the sword caused Kaze's sentence to break off. As they fought, Kaze dodged as the man swung his sword around. "Enough!!" Kaze yelled. The man stopped in mid-swing and looked at her. Her hat fell off during the fight and he saw that she was clearly a little girl.

"Hey, you can't be a bounty hunter. You can't be no more than four." The mist cleared and Kaze saw the man clearly. He had blue skin and slits on his cheeks that must have been gills. His teeth were pointy and his eyes were small. His spiky blue hair stuck out of his headband that had a slash through the symbol.

"No, I'm not a bounty hunter." Kaze walked up to him, her eyes locked on his, keeping him at bay. "My name is Kaze." She smiled and held out her hand in a friendly gesture.

"Hoshigaki Kisame." He stared out her outstretched hand. "You're not scared of me?"

"Why would I be?"

"I have blue skin, and I'm not exactly the cutest thing on two legs."

"Just because someone is a little different does not mean that they are scary." Kisame looked at her. This was the first time anyone had ever been kind to him, because they were always scared of him. He took her hand and shook it. "The reason I came here was because I was wondering if you would like to join Akatsuki."

"Akatsuki?"

"It's a group that I'm a part of that is working towards world peace. If you join you'll become more powerful." Kaze smiled at him.

"Okay, I'll join."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Yay. Let's go." She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the edge of the village.

*

Kaze stood staring down at the village from a hill. She didn't want to go there, but she needed to find out if a rumor she heard in the Sand Village was true.

"Are we going down to Konoha or not?" Kisame asked Kaze as she stared at it.

"You stay here, I'll go alone." Kaze started walking down the hill towards her birthplace. Before she got to the gate, she turned invisible and walked past the guards and walked unseen through the streets of the village, listening.

"_I heard that he used a special jutsu that no one knew about to kill them_."

"_I'm glad that he is out of the village_."

"_He's a dangerous person_."

"_He killed every one of his clan_."

"_He left his little brother alive._"

"_That _Uchiha Itachi…"

Kaze listened to the gossip going around, thus confirming the rumor she heard in the Sand Village. She walked to the Uchiha neighborhood. Wooden barriers had the words KEEP OUT written on them. Kaze went through them and walked the silent streets of the neighborhood, passing white corpse bags as she moved smoothly. She came to a lake with a dock over it. On the dock sat a small, spiky haired boy, with the Uchiha symbol on the back of his shirt. She materialized as she looked at him. "_He's just like me, all alone._" The boy looked behind him seeing a short figure in a black coat with red clouds and a hat hiding its face. He stood up with angry teary eyes.

"I don't need your pity!!" He yelled. Kaze looked at him with hidden sympathetic eyes and turned around to walk away.

*

"Kisame, we're going to find Uchiha Itachi." Kaze said as she came back to the hill outside the village.

"If he's an Uchiha, shouldn't he be down there?"

"No, he killed his entire clan so he left the village."

"Why are we looking for a psycho killer?"

"He's strong, and he has nowhere else to go." Kaze turned on her heel and Kisame followed her.

*

A man in the Akatsuki coat was on the horizon. Kaze looked at him, Kisame by her side. As they came closer, she realized it was who they were looking for, but why was he wearing the coat?

"Uchiha Itachi?" Kaze asked when they got closer.

"Yes." Kaze was about to ask where he got the coat when Pain came from the forest with another person. At least she thought it was a person. It looked like a plant with legs.

"Kaze, I want you to go find a certain person for me." Pain said as he handed her a piece of paper. "Ask them if they want to join. I'll take these three to headquarters."

"Who..?" Kaze asked, wondering who the plant was.

"This is Zetsu and Uchiha Itachi." Pain said as he pointed to each of them. "Who did you get?"

"My name is Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the seven swordsmen of the Mist." Kisame seemed a little annoyed.

"I am grateful that you joined us. Kaze?"

"Yes."

"The person on that paper is the last member we need. Konan found two others; they are at headquarters at this moment."

"Okay." Kaze seemed a little shocked and scared by Zetsu; she shivered when she felt him looking at her.

"_Little girls taste the best_." Zetsu said as he licked his lips.

"You can't eat any of the members, Zetsu." Pain said, but Kaze was already running away down the path. In a gust of wind, she disappeared, teleported herself far away.

*

Kaze was breathing really hard. She was so scared of that new member. Once she caught her breath, she took out the piece of paper and gasped when she saw the name written on it. She put the paper back into her coat and decided to go to the nearest village and gather some information, if there was any, about the person.

*

Kaze approached what seemed like an abandoned laboratory in the middle of nowhere, but she knew who was inside. She walked down a long hallway to a stone wall. She gulped and went through the wall. She gasped, trying not to scream. Bodies lined the walls that were stained with blood. Organs in jars with preservatives sat on shelves and dozens of dissecting tools lay on the blood stained table. Kaze shut her eyes to the horror. A voice came from a room to her right.

"Who's there?" Kaze opened her blue eye, to see a pale man standing in the door way. His long black hair hung around the Konoha headband, slashed, on his forehead. The purple outlined yellow snake eyes as he stared at her. Kaze gulped; this was who she was looking for: Orochimaru.

*

"Now that we have all the members we need, let's introduce ourselves. Say your name, where you're from, your specialty jutsu, and why you're classified as a criminal. We'll start with you." Pain pointed to Deidara.

"I'm Deidara, I'm from the Village Hidden in the Rocks, my specialty jutsu is art, and I've blown up many buildings in my village." Deidara smiled and the mouths on his hands smiled too.

"I'm Sasori of the Red Sand. I'm from the Village Hidden in the Sand, my talent is puppets and I used some of my neighbors as experiment subjects."

"I'm Hoshigaki Kisame. Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The Village Hidden in the Mist. Murder."

"Itachi Uchiha…"

"Kakuzu. I like money and I'm from the Village Hidden in the Waterfall, I robbed banks and killed a few people in the process. I have six hearts." Everyone stared at him after he said that.

"Anyway, I'm Hidan; I'm from the Village Hidden in the Hot Springs. I am a very religious man, and as a reward for being so loyal to my religion, I am immortal. I have killed countless people and sacrificed them for my god."

"My name is Orochimaru. Need I say more?"

"_My Name is Zetsu_…I have a split personality…_I like eating human flesh hehehehe_."

"I am Konan…"

"I am Obake Kaze, the youngest member of this organization…I've never really committed any crimes…"

"And I'm Pain, the leader of this organization." Pain stood proud and tall in the front of the group.

"I would like all of you to go out into the world and train so that your power will increase. I will now pair you up. If you do not like your partner, I don't care, live with it." Pain looked evil as he said this. (If you've ever seen an anime, it's as if he is a demon you know.) "The first pair will be Itachi and Kisame."

"Why do I have to be paired up with this psycho…?!"

"I said I don't care." Pain interrupted. "The next pair will be Deidara and Sasori."

"Oh, wonderful." Deidara said in a sarcastic tone.

"The next pair will be Kakuzu and Hidan, and that leaves Orochimaru and Zetsu."

"Snakes are yummy too." Zetsu said while drooling.

"Wait! Who's Kaze's partner? You're not going to make a four-year-old…"

"I'm five now!"

"Fine, a five-year-old, walk around by herself?" Deidara seemed a little worried about Kaze.

"She'll be on a special mission."

"Plus, I think I'd prefer to be alone, but thank you for your concern Deidara-nii." Deidara blushed a little, like he was her real older brother.

After the others left to go train, Pain turned to Kaze. "I don't expect a little girl like you to fight and kill, so gather as much information as you can until I call everyone back, understand?"

"Yes." Kaze looked up into Pain's face, then disappeared.

*

(6 years later, Kaze is 11, Naruto and others 12; they turn 13 in middle of series)

"Now that we are all gathered, I will explain how our goal will come to be." Pain stood in front of everyone. "The key to world peace is, Jinchurriki." Kaze gasped.

"Jinchurriki! How will they…"

"I'll explain. I found a device that can remove the tailed beast from a Jinchurriki, and with the beast we can receive more power in order to create world peace."

"But if we remove the beast, the Jinchurriki will die! Peace is not about death!"

"In order to achieve our goal, sacrifices must be made." Kaze stared at Pain, shocked and a little angry. She turned her head away. "Do you know where the Jinchurriki are, Kaze?"

"No. You didn't tell me to look for Jinchurriki." Kaze said in a cold voice.

"Then you can start searching for them now. It will take a long time to get the device running."

"Fine." Kaze disappeared in a gust of wind.

*

"_Stupid Pain. 'Sacrifices must be made.' What does he know anyway?_" Kaze was sitting on a bench in the Village Hidden in the Clouds. She had her bandanna with the Obake symbol turned the other way so that the symbol wouldn't show and a Cloud headband around her waist. She had her coat off, folded up in her traveling pack and her hat was next to her on the bench. She sighed.

"Oi! Sakura, wait up!" A girl with short pink hair walked stopped in front of her and looked back at a blond spiky haired boy in an orange jumpsuit. Kaze felt annoyed just by looking at that stupid grin. A black haired boy banged the blond on the head calling him a dobe. "_Uchiha Sasuke_." Kaze looked at him with sad eyes. "_He's not alone anymore. If I stayed in Konoha, would I have friends my age?_" Kaze felt a warm tear flow down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away and looked at the blond kid again. A sudden knowing came to the front of her mind. She sensed a tailed beast within the boy. The nine tailed fox! Kaze looked at him, confused. How could such a…dobe…be a Jinchurriki? "_I'll tell Pain later._" Kaze hid her eyes behind her knees which were pulled up to her chest. She felt so alone.

"Excuse me?" Kaze jerked her head up. The girl called Sakura gasped when she saw her eyes, but then smiled and sat down next to Kaze. "My name in Haruno Sakura. What's yours?" Kaze was confused, was she trying to be her friend?

"Kaze, just Kaze." Sakura stared at her eyes, believing her, trusting her.

"Well Kaze, are you okay? You looked like you were crying."

"Oh, I'm fine, just tired."

"Okay, so you're a citizen of this village right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know a guy by the name of Siyo Mitsuru?"

"I know who he is, but he's not in this village. He's in the Village Hidden in the Waterfall. He left because of a crime he committed against Konoha."

"Oh…yeah…_How does this girl know so much?_ Ummm…I'm on a mission to find him, so thank you for that information."

"Oh, when you get to the village, go to the temple on the highest hill. Inside there is a dragon statue. If your whole team puts a hand on it, then you'll have good luck." Kaze smiled.

"Thank you so much Kaze. Hey, if you're ever in Konoha, look for me, we can hang out and talk some time." Kaze's eyes grew wide. Could she have possibly made a friend her age?

"I will!"

*

Kaze waved goodbye to Team seven.

"Who was that Sakura?" Kakashi-sensei asked her.

"Kaze, a resident of Cloud."

"She seems familiar somehow. Must be my imagination." Kakashi shrugged the matter off and they continued to Waterfall.

Kaze sighed, "I hope they go to the temple first, because by pulling the dragon hand down, a secret door will open and Mitsuru is inside." Kaze watched the group disappear, then she walked out of the village to Rain.

*

"The nine-tailed is in Konoha, Pain." Kaze said when she walked in the door.

"Very good, tell…Itachi and Kisame to get the nine-tailed. Give them all the information they need so they can kidnap him without a big ruckus."

"Fine." Kaze walked out of the tower and went to find Itachi and Kisame.

*

"Itachi-nii, Kisame-nii!" Kaze called to them as she ran up the path to meet up with them. "Hey, so Pain wants you to go to Konoha to get the nine-tails. The Jinchurriki is Uzumaki Naruto. He has blond spiky hair and an annoying aura around him. Right now, he is in Konoha."

"We'll be on our way."

"Oh, you should make it very soon. Orochimaru just attacked the village and killed the third lord. He's wounded because the Hokage used a special jutsu on him, but anyway, the village is in ruins."

"Geez, Orochimaru should have just stayed with us." Kisame grumbled. "Why did he leave anyway?" Kaze looked at Itachi.

"He was impatient for power." Itachi answered. "Let's get going Kisame." The two turned around and started heading towards Konoha.

*

(Look in book 16)

"They've escaped complete annihilation. But it appears they've suffered heavy losses." Kisame said while looking down on Konoha.

" For such a prosperous village… it's pathetic." Itachi glared. Kisame grinned,

"That's unlike you…so you still have lingering affection towards your homeland? Even you have nostalgia…"

Itachi interrupted Kisame, "No…none at all."

*

(Still in book 16)

Kisame and Itachi were walking on the outside road of the village near a huge lake, when Asuma and Kurenai arrived on Kakashi's order.

"You're not from this village…what's your business here…?" Asuma asked, keeping his guard up.

"It's been too long…Asuma…Kurenai…" Itachi said without lifting his head.

"You could only know our names if you were shinobi of this village." Asuma continued. Itachi lifted his hat up, revealing his sharingan, which caused a shocked reaction from Asuma and Kurenai.

"Y…You're?!" Itachi started lifting his hat off. "…Humph. There's no mistake… Uchiha Itachi." (Read rest in chapter 141-part of 143 until Itachi and Kisame leave)

Kaze motioned to Itachi, while the backs of the Konoha shinobi were to her, through the trees near the lake. "Kisame…I'm calling it off. We didn't come here to start a war….Tempting as it is, this is not the way to do this…Let's go." Kisame humphed at Itachi then noticed Kaze through the trees. He put away his sword saying,

"They don't know how lucky they are…" Then they vanished and ran to the forest where Kaze was hiding.

"I saw Naruto in the next village over. I'll take you there my self." Kaze linked arms with Itachi and Kisame and with a swirl of wind, transported them to the village where Naruto was. "He's in room 501 in this inn."

"Thanks, Kaze." Kisame said as they walked into the inn.

"_I probably should have told them that Jiraiya is with Naruto…Oh well._" Kaze walked off through the streets.


	2. the secret's out!

Kaze looked down at Konoha. Though she was invited by Sakura to hang out, she felt like everything was turning upside down. Kaze walked down and through the front gate.

"Excuse me young lady, you need to show us some identification." One of the guards said. "_Dammit._" Kaze didn't have an ID card and she didn't like to use her kekkai-genkai of control. Kaze gulped.

"I'm sorry, I don't have an ID but you'll let me in with out it, right?" Kaze said as the guards eyes turned blue as she spoke.

"Of, course young lady." The other guard spoke, his eyes glazed. Kaze then walked away and once she was a safe distance away from the guards, their eyes went back to normal and they continued about their work as if nothing happened.

Kaze walked through the streets and then she saw her; a girl with pink hair. "Sakura!" Kaze called out. Sakura turned around at the sound of her name and smiled when she saw Kaze.

"Hey Kaze!" Sakura waved as she walked towards her in the crowded streets. "What are you doing here?" Sakura asked.

"Umm…you said I could come to Konoha and we could hang out."

"Well that sounds like a plan. Come on, Kaze." Sakura led Kaze to a gazebo with flowers around it and sat down. Sakura and Kaze talked to each other, about interests missions, friends, family. Kaze told her about her family, at least what she remembered of it, but gave no hint that they were all dead. It was late and the sun was going down when Sakura invited Kaze to dinner.

"Are you sure? I don't want to intrude."

"Hey, looking at everything we just talked about, I feel like I've known you my entire life!" Sakura grinned as she led Kaze to her house.

*

"Kaze, right? So, why are you here without your cell?" Mrs. Haruno asked while she served stew to the two girls who were still immersed in their conversation.

"I don't have a cell." Sakura and Mrs. Haruno looked at Kaze with questioning looks. "What I mean is that not many people want me in their cell, because of my level."

"Oh, so what are you? A chunin?"

"Ah, no…a jounin." Sakura gasped and then smiled.

"That is so cool." Apparently the girls hadn't gotten to the subject of ninja levels yet. The two girls ate and talked, once in a while answering Sakura's mom's questions.

After dinner, Kaze said that she should be going.

"But it's dark outside, won't you stay the night?" Mrs. Haruno said, concerned for her daughter's friend's safety.

"No, I'll be fine." Kaze thanked them once again and as she was about to walk out of the doors, she bumped into Mr. Haruno, a ninja who works late hours.

"Ah, who is this lovely young la…" Mr. Haruno stopped when he saw her eyes; he could have sworn that he heard about them a long time ago. Kaze noticed this and quickly said,

"I'm Kaze, sorry but I can't stay long. Good bye." Kaze bowed and then walked passed Mr. Haruno and out into the dark night.

"Dear?" Mrs. Haruno looked concerned.

"I could've sworn that I saw her or at least heard about her a long time ago."

"That can't be, daddy. Kaze is from Cloud."

"Probably just my imagination. How're you doing my little cherry blossom?" Mr. Haruno forgot about his distant memory and became the father just home from work. Little known to the family that Kaze was outside the window watching this family scene, wishing she had a family to share moments like this with. Kaze sighed and disappeared.

*

(1 year later, Kaze is 12, Naruto and others are 13, Sasuke already left, Naruto is off training with Jiraiya, Sakura is training under Tsunade)

"Sakura go outside the village to gather this herb here." Tsunade pointed to a picture in a book of medicinal herbs.

"Don't we grow it in the green houses?"

"NO! Do you think I would ask you to go outside the village to get it if we grow it in the green houses?!!" Tsunade said with an anime vein. "Now go!" Tsunade pointed to the door. Sakura ran out of the room and ran down the path to the gate. She told the guards there that she would be back shortly.

Sakura walked out of the village and out of the barrier around the village towards a spot in the forest where lots of herbs grow. Sakura walked into the field and began to look for the herbs that Tsunade ordered her to get. After a while of working, Sakura lay down in the grass and looked up at the sky. With her head on the ground, footsteps thumped in her brain. She sat up and saw a figure walking through the trees outside of the clearing. As she looked closer she realized that the figure was wearing a black cloak, with red clouds on it. Sakura felt the heat of anger rush into her face. She sat still, hoping that the member of Akatsuki wouldn't look her way. Although she was angry and wanted to kill that person, she knew she probably didn't stand a chance. The person stopped, looked up at the sky. Sakura couldn't see his face because of the hat he wore. Sakura hoped that he wouldn't look her way. The figure started to move again, Sakura sighed with relief, but stopped short when the figure suddenly stopped, and slowly turned their head towards Sakura. The figure just stood there, looking at her, solid.

"What the hell are you doing so close to Konoha, BASTARD?!!!" Sakura yelled as she pulled out a kunai and held it in her hand. Sakura ran towards the figure, but the figure didn't move. Sakura threw the kunai at the person and the person dodged at the last possible second, then after regaining their balance, ran away from Sakura at full speed. Sakura ran after the figure, intent on not letting him get away. As they came to a large hill, four figures appeared over it. "KIBA, HINATA, SHINO, KURENAI-SENSEI!!!" Sakura yelled, "STOP HIM!!!" The figure stopped at the foot of the hill looking up at the team at the top. Akamaru jumped down and ran towards the figure at Kiba's command, but as Akamaru neared the member of Akatsuki, he stopped and sniffed, then with a friendly _yip_ Akamaru trotted up to the figure, tail wagging, barking with a friendly tone.

"AKAMARU!! What's wrong with you?!" Kiba yelled at the tiny dog. The figure just stood there, looking at the dog. Then as team 8 ran down the hill, the figure turned on his heel and ran towards Sakura, flipping over her and running into the forest. Sakura followed on the ground as the figure jumped up into the trees above. Team 8 was far behind. Just then, a branch caught the figure's foot and he tripped out of the tree, falling in a heap onto the hard ground below. His hat rolled away. The figure just lay there, seeming to think that there was no use running anymore. Sakura walked slowly up to the figure. He was smaller than she expected, as she neared, light blond hair was visible, and then Sakura gasped.

"KAZE?!"

Kaze lay on the ground, eyes full of regret and sadness. She said nothing. Sakura found it hard to stand and dropped to the ground. "Kaze, you…" Sakura couldn't find the right words to say. Kaze slowly got up and went to grab her hat, but Sakura beat her there, finding the strength to run over there. "Explain to me Kaze." Sakura looked hurt. Kaze couldn't look her in the eye.

"I'm sorry."

"What?"

"I'm sorry." Kaze still looked at the ground. "I'm sorry I lied to you. It's just…you were my first friend." Kaze slowly brought her eyes up to meet Sakura's. Tears streamed out of her eyes. "I was so happy." Kaze smiled as the tears ran down her cheeks. Sakura looked at Kaze with sympathetic eyes, then she hugged her.

"Kaze, you were a good friend too, but," Sakura pushed her away from the hug. "I don't know if I can trust you if you are part of Akatsuki. I mean… are you a criminal?"

"I'm not…" Kaze started, but Akamaru's yip was heard through the trees, Kaze grabbed her hat and started to walk away.

"KAZE?!"

"When the wind blows from the south, come to the place where I saw you today, I'll tell you everything." And with that, Kaze disappeared.

"Sakura, did you get him?" Kurenai-sensei asked when they arrived.

"No, he got away."

"Dammit, I wanted to punch some Akatsuki butt." Kiba complained. "But you know, it was weird that Akamaru seemed to like him. I've never seen him stop an attack like that and be friendly. Kurenai-sensei examined him and said no jutsu was cast on him, so…" Sakura's eyes got wide with realization. "_Was Kaze once a citizen of Konoha? Akamaru seemed to know her._" Sakura pondered this as they all went back to Konoha to give their report.

*

Sakura was walking through the streets of Konoha when a warm breeze blew her hair around. A few leaves swirled around Sakura and then flew off. Sakura looked south, heart beating fast. The wind was coming from the south. Sakura ran out of the village towards the field of herbs. When she got there Kaze was sitting in the middle, sitting on her coat.

"Kaze!" Sakura ran up to her and sat down. "Will you explain to me?" Kaze sighed and nodded.

"When I was little, I lived here, in Konoha." Sakura's eyes wandered to her headband of Konoha.

"I knew it."

"You did?"

"Ah…well…Akamaru seemed to know you."

"Yes he does. I met Kiba a long time ago. Well, you've heard of the Obake epidemic right?"

"Yes."

"That was my family, I was the only survivor." Sakura was confused, she knew there was one survivor but, everyone thought the survivor died later. "I ran away from Konoha after I met Lord Hyuuga and Hinata, the family I was supposed to live with from then on. But I couldn't stand it; the way they looked at me." Kaze's eyes locked with Sakura's, and Sakura couldn't look away.

"H…How did they look at you?"

"With pity, I hated it. It made me feel small and helpless under their gaze, and all the more alone. When I was left alone, I left the village and was found by the leader of Akatsuki. They told me that the goal was world peace. I was too young to understand anything else, but when I was older, I realized that their idea of 'peace' was domination. I was already in too far, I…can't leave."

"Why? You don't want to?"

"No, it's not that, it's…They won't give me up so easily."

"Kaze, that is a group of S-class criminals, have you killed innocent people?"

"NO! I…I …I refuse to kill. I'll knock them out, but I will not kill. I can't stand death. Not after what happened to my family." Kaze looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"So everything you told me was a lie?"

"No, not everything. The stuff about my family was true…when I was younger, my interests were all true…the one about me being a jounin, was a lie."

"So you're a chunin?"

"No…I…at age four I was at black-ops level." Sakura's eyes widened. If she was at black-ops level at age four, now she must exceed the Hokage.

"That's what you meant when you said they wouldn't give you up so easily." Kaze nodded but kept her gaze down in a sad gesture. "Kaze." Kaze looked up. "I…I'll trust you with all of this, but I…"

"Akatsuki is going to lie low for about three years. They're waiting for Orochimaru to make his move. You have that long to find Sasuke and convince him to go back with you to Konoha and to grow stronger in order to protect Naruto."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I'm the information gatherer for Akatsuki, I know everything from who all the leaders of this world is down to what you had for breakfast this morning. Sakura, you are my one and only trustworthy friend, I don't want you to get hurt, so I will tell you what I can in order to protect you and this village."

"Kaze…wait, do you know where Sasuke is?" Sakura looked desperate.

"Yes." Kaze then stood up suddenly and began to walk off.

"Tell me where he is!"

"I will! When you are strong enough to bring him back!" Kaze turned around and smiled, tears of joy that she hadn't lost her friend were running down her face. And with that, she vanished.


	3. shippuddin

(Gaara has been kidnapped and team Kakashi is in Sand)

Granny Chiyo ran at Kakashi, accusing him of being the White Fang of Konoha. Naruto, using shadow clones, stopped her and they explained exactly who he was.

"Please!" Temari said in order to stop them from fighting.

"More importantly, Kankuro needs to be quickly…!" Sakura said as she started working on him in order to remove the poison.

"Got it!" Sakura said as she sighed with relief. " I don't think there's any need to worry about his life anymore. I've directly removed the poison." Temari sighed, falling to the floor as she released her tension. "Now I have to make an antidote for the little bit of poison left in his body. We can't relax yet. Please gather what I say." Sakura started giving out orders and they led her to the green houses where they keep all the village's herbs.

*  
(very early in the morning, Sakura is still working on the antidote in the green houses alone)

"Now I'll add this and see if this kills the poison."

"This herb will work a lot better." Sakura turned around and saw a figure in an Akatsuki coat.

"KAZE! You shouldn't be here, it's dangerous after what happened."

"I know…but…" Kaze took off her hat. Her hair was longer and tied back in a low ponytail with a blue bow. "I wanted to make sure that…"

"Did you tell Akatsuki about Gaara?"

"No, they found out about him when he became Kazekage." Sakura took the herb Kaze held out and placed it in the antidote, and then watched how it killed the poison. "Be careful Sakura."

"Of what?"

"You're going after Sasori-nii and Deidara-nii, right? They're really strong. You have three days to save Gaara. It will take that long to extract the tailed beast. If you get there before then, then the tailed beast will flow back into the jinchuuriki and he will keep his life."

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't worry about finding the hideout, it's getting in that's the problem."

"Kaze." Sakura hugged her, she hadn't seen her since that day when Kaze explained everything to her. "I missed you." Kaze smiled and hugged her back.

"Me too…but seriously, you have to be careful, especially when fighting Sasori-nii."

"Kaze, are you close with the members of Akatsuki?" Kaze blushed.

"Yes, some are like brothers. I…"

"Will you be upset if I…I killed one of them?" Kaze's eyes went wide with fear.

"I know they've done some pretty awful things, they probably deserve to die, but they do have their kind sides, they're just blinded by power."

"I'll try not to kill them."

"No, Sakura, if you don't attack them as if to kill…"

"I'll never be able to win." Sakura smiled. "Kakashi-sensei taught us that." Kaze opened her mouth to say something else when the door to the green house opened. Kaze waved goodbye and then disappeared as the guards came in.

"Sakura, did you find the antidote?"

"Hmm?...Oh yeah, it's right here. I'll give it to Kankuro in the morning."

"Thank you so much Sakura."

"No, problem."

*

"Yo, Kaze, are you here to help with the extraction of the beast?" Deidara asked as Kaze walked through the large opening to the cave.

"In your dreams. I just came by to ask if I can have the body when you're through with it."

"Well, if Zetsu doesn't get to it first, then yeah." A cold shiver went down Kaze's spine at the mention of Zetsu.

"I'm leaving." Kaze said as she turned around.

"Come back soon Kaze!" Deidara yelled as she opened the rock.

Kaze sighed as she began to walk out. "_I hope they get there in time. I hate death._" Kaze then disappeared.

*

"Everyone halt!" Kakashi said as the team and Granny Chiyo were running through the forest towards the Akatsuki's hideout. Standing in their way, was none other than Uchiha Itachi. Kaze, at the top of the tree, knew who it really was though. She wasn't concerned about her friend's safety because it was not Itachi, just a substitute. Kaze disappeared, deciding to lie low until the end of this whole fiasco.

*

Kaze watched as Deidara was fighting Naruto. She sighed and was about to turn away when she sensed something. She turned around slowly, seeing what she feared. The fox's chakra was leaking out and covering Naruto in a bubbly shield of chakra. Kaze, eyes showing her shock, decided on what she must do.

Kaze closed her eyes.

*

Kaze was walking through hallways with water on the ground. She then came to a giant gate. Inside the gate, large red eyes stared out at her, Naruto in the fox's jaws.

"Who's there?! Well, well, well. If it isn't an Obake, I thought they were extinct."

"We're not animals, fox. Now let Naruto go!" Kaze said in a demanding voice.

"Oh, but, Naruto chose to gain this power, you won't take him away from it, will you?"

"SHUT UP!! Let. Him. Go."

*

Naruto jumped up on a pointed rock then stopped, the fox, stopping because of Kaze's command. Kakashi placed a seal on Naruto's head and the fox's chakra diminished.

*

"What's going on, my chakra is getting sealed?!" Naruto floated out of the gate and Kaze grabbed him.

"You're okay now." She smiled then went back to her body.

*

She blinked seeing Deidara cornered by Guy's team.

"Well done, Negi." Guy-sensei said. Tenten threw Kunai at Deidara and he ran towards his clay headless bird.

"Everyone watch out! That person's a long distance type who attacks with explosions!" Kakashi-sensei yelled. Deidara spit out the kunai he had in his mouth and began eating his clay.

"Take a look at my ultimate work of art…Art is a BANG!" Deidara's body began to swell. Kaze gasped when she realized what was going to happen. She began to run towards the group.

"Everyone, hurry get away from here!" Negi yelled, obviously seeing what was about to happen. Everyone started to run away. "_Oh no, I'm not going to make it._" Kaze thought as she continued to run.

Then, instead of an explosion, silence filled the air. _"Huh?_"

"What's going on?" Guy asked. The explosion was focaling to a point and then it disappeared. Kakashi sat on the ground with a new Sharingan that seemed to cause the explosion to occur. But that technique caused Kakashi to use too much chakra, so he fell over from exhaustion. Kaze sighed in relief. She landed on the ground a few meters away from the incident and stood staring at a piec of land.

"You can come out now, Deidara-nii." Kaze said as a blond armless man came out from the ground.

"Great, now I have to go find my arm. See you Kaze."

"See you."

*

Zetsu was looking at Sasori's dead body. "_So this is Sasori's real body, eh…_" Just then an annoying voice sounded from the back of the cave.

"I got it! I got it, Zetsu!" A young man with a orange lollipop shaped mask sat holding a ring. "With this I can become a member of Akatsuki too, right? There's an opening now."

"Idiot…it's not that simple…_We can let him in. Tobi's a good boy_." Tobi dropped the ring and then started to sob that he couldn't reach the ring because it fell into a crack. Then the ring rose out of the crack and floated over to a hand. Kaze looked at Tobi with a frown. Then she turned around to Zetsu and yelled,

"Don't you dare touch Sasori's body, you overgrown weed!" Kaze walked over to Sasori's body and knelt down beside it. "Sasori-nii." Kaze reached out a shaking hand towards the puppet master's dead body. A tear fell down as she picked up his body and turned towards Tobi and Zetsu. "I'll be taking him…Tobi, getting into Akatsuki is not as easy as finding a ring. You have to talk to the leader." Kaze knew that Tobi was the leader, but Zetsu didn't so Kaze was putting up an act. In a gust of wind, Kaze disappeared with Sasori.

*

Wind blew the long grass in a large field. Kaze was digging a hole in the ground. When she was done, she placed Sasori in it and placed a large rock at the head of the now filled in hole. With a kunai, Kaze wrote Sasori's name in the stone. Then she took a cat puppet out of her bag and placed it near the stone. Tears fell on the head of the little cat as Kaze remembered when Sasori gave it to her.

*

(flashback)

"_Don't cry Kaze." Deidara said as he hugged her. She was still very young and she was hanging out with Deidara and Sasori when she had a bad dream and woke up crying. Sasori took out a puppet and attached chakra strings to it. A tiny cat walked up to Kaze and rubbed it's fur against her leg. Kaze hiccupped and looked at the cat._

"_Please cheer up Kaze." Sasori said while he moved his fingers around. With tears still streaming down her face, Kaze smiled._

"_Thank you, Sasori-nii."_

(end flashback)

*

"hic…hic…Sasori-nii…SASORI-NII!!!" Kaze was distraught. She lost another person really important to her. She cried and cried at the place where she buried Sasori, eventually falling asleep there.

"Geez, Kaze. You shouldn't sleep here." Kisame said as he and Itachi walked past. Itachi picked Kaze off of the stone she was hugging. His eyes widened when he saw the name carved on the stone.

"So, Sasori's dead." Itachi held Kaze princess style, seeing the tear stains on her cheeks. "Kaze, you're a good girl." Itachi kissed her forehead and the two criminals rook her away.


	4. secret crush

Kaze breathed out the air she was holding in with a long sigh. She didn't want to be here but she figured she might as well check up on him. Kaze walked through the hallways of the abandoned building, leaving in her wake unconscious bodies that seemed to be animated corpses. Kaze then walked through the door only to have to catch a scalpel that was flung at her.

"Peace Kabuto, little Kaze will not hurt me." A man sitting in a large stone chair said, his face in the shadows. "To what do I owe this pleasure, Kaze?" Orochimaru hissed.

"I just felt like checking up on you to make sure you aren't doing anything stupid." Kaze said with malice.

"Since you're here, Kaze, will you do me a huge favor?" Orochimaru chuckled maliciously.

"Depends." Kaze took off her hat and coat and placed them on a table. "What do you want me to do?"

"Fight Sasuke and give him a few pointers. I believe I've taught him well but I wish to see him in action against a professional and he must learn not to rely too much on his sharingan."

"I see." Kaze paused while she thought about it. "Very well, I'll fight him. You do know that he won't last long."

"Yes, I know." Orochimaru smiled again and Kaze glared at him. "Kabuto, go and fetch Sasuke for us. Tell him he will be fighting an old friend of mine for training purposes."

"Right away Lord Orochimaru." Kabuto ran off and soon came back with Sasuke trailing behind him in the shadows.

"Sasuke, meet Kaze, an old friend from Akatsuki." Sasuke's eyes grew wide with hate as he thought of his brother. "She's going to fight with you in order to see how far you've come." Kaze who was in the shadows stepped into the light. Sasuke looked her over.

"Have we met somewhere before?" Sasuke asked.

"A long time ago, yes. But that's not important right now. Let's begin." Kaze shifted into a stance to begin the fight. Sasuke also shifted and then decided to give the first blow. BAM! Sasuke's hand hit a wall. He turned around to see Kaze standing behind him. He went for a kick but missed (or so it seemed). He turned around again to see Kaze standing there. Sasuke was getting angry. CLICK His sharingan switched on. He stared at Kaze, shocked. He looked at Orochimaru and could see the great ninja's chakra levels. He looked back at Kaze and still could not see anything. She looked as though his sharingan weren't in effect. SLAM!! Kaze punched Sasuke into a wall while he was still trying to figure out what was going on with his sharingan. Sasuke got up and wiped the blood off with his hand that was coming out of his mouth. Kaze shifted back into the position she was in earlier. Sasuke was angry now. He took out his sword and fused it with lighting nature chakra. He flung the lightning at Kaze, but it seemed to go right through her. Sasuke was getting confused. _ What in the world is she?_ He looked at her closely only to have to put his sword up in a quick block because Kaze's speed was so great. Their swords clashed. Sasuke looked at her sword and gasped. It was blunt, no sharp edges made it deadly. He wondered how she could fight with such a useless sword, and then he saw it. Chakra worked its way around her sword and SLICE. Her sword cut right through his as if it were made of paper. Sasuke quickly dodged the rest of her sword and jumped back a few feet. Then his cheek opened up, blood spilling out. _How?_ Her chakra was so sharp he didn't even realize it hit him. He looked back up to where Kaze was, but she was no longer there. Then a voice said behind him, "You lose." Kaze stood behind him with her sword directly at his back. She sheathed her sword and walked back to the table where she placed her things. "Sasuke, why are you here?"

"To get revenge on my brother." Sasuke said between breaths. He was sweating up a storm, but Kaze looked perfectly fine.

"Really?" Kaze didn't look convinced. She looked at Orochimaru and Kabuto and frowned. "Know who your enemies are, Sasuke. You're friends are still waiting for you." Kaze put her coat back on and held her hat between her hands. "Orochimaru, you failed to teach Sasuke proper balance. Do better in your future training." With that said, Kaze walked through the wall and disappeared.

*

Kaze stared up at the sky. She sighed as she turned to the side only to jolt back at the site of what looked like an ink mouse. She stared at it not knowing what to make of the little thing. Then it turned on its heels and scurried away. She stood up and tried to follow it, only to have to hide from a Konoha ninja that had the little mouse splash itself on a sheet of blank white paper. Then her image formed out of the ink of the mouse. Her image was complete with an Akatsuki cloak. She cursed quietly as the ninja looked at the image. He was a tall pale boy with black hair and black eyes. He reminded Kaze a bit of Sasuke. The boy continued to stare at her picture and then began to walk to the place she ran from. She stood up from her hiding place watching him go. "_He's a root ninja. That's why he has little expression_." Kaze watched him walk over a hill and disappear from view. She decided that it was time she gathered info on the root ninja of Konoha. She made a complex hand signs, and just as she was disappearing to teleport herself, the Sasuke-look-alike came back over the hill and saw her as she disappeared into the wind.

*

"So, he's the new member of team 7 since Kakashi is down and Sasuke is gone." Kaze looked at a little notebook as she lay in a field a little ways from Konoha. He coat was in her bag so she felt safe from being discovered. "Root is lead by…Danzo!? Wait, I thought he…man, this changes everything." Kaze jolted up. She had many sources of information and she just received the info on Danzo. "So if Danzo is the leader, he must be making emotionless ninjas that have no choice but to follow his orders." Kaze thought for a moment. Kaze was so deep in thought, that she didn't even hear the friendly woof coming from the bottom of the hill behind her.

"AKAMARU!! Wait up, boy!" Kaze jolted forward with shock that she let them get so close. Before she could pick up her bag, Akamaru was on top of her washing her with sloppy kisses. Kaze tried to push the big dog off of her, but he was just that…big.

"S…Stop it, Akamaru." Kaze regretted that as soon as she said it, for standing right next to her was Kiba. Kiba stood over Akamaru shocked, eyes wide and frozen. Akamaru got off of Kaze and she just lay there, too stunned by her own stupidity to move. Akamaru yipped to Kiba something, that Kiba seemed to understand.

"You've…We've met before?" Kiba asked. He looked her in the eyes and realized that he remembered seeing them somewhere…but where? Kaze stood up and brushed loose grass off of her pants. She was relieved that she had her cloud headband on and her bandanna turned backwards, but Akamaru told Kiba!! _Damn mutt._ Kaze tried her best not to let her emotions show.

"No, I don't think we've met before, you must be mistaken." Kaze said calmly even though her heart was racing because of the lie. She turned to walk away but Kiba grabbed her hand. Kaze blushed a deep crimson. "_Why am I blushing? He's just holding my hand…no big deal. Breathe, Kaze._" Kaze breathed in deeply and tried to get control on her overly red face.

"Wait…I know we've met before. I can't remember when and where, but I remember your eyes. No one else has eyes like those. What…what's your name?" Kiba said not letting go of her hand. The question took Kaze off guard. Would he remember her once he learned her name? Would he tell the village that the last Obake has come back? Kaze thought these and more.

"My name…is…" Kiba waited for an answer, staring directly into her eyes. "K…K…Kaze." Kaze closed her eyes waiting for the gasp of recognition. But it never came. She opened her eyes to look at Kiba. He was staring at her, or more like through her. "_I'm so screwed_…"

"Are you sure we haven't met somewhere before?" Kiba asked.

"NO! I mean, yes I'm sure, no we haven't met before. (anime teardrop) Now, if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere I have to go." Kaze smiled and picked up her bag. As she turned around to leave she was suddenly pulled down to the ground by Akamaru grabbing her by the bandanna around her neck. It untied and hung in Akamaru's mouth as he whined at her, wishing that she wouldn't go. Kaze went to grab the bandanna, but Akamaru misunderstood and thought she wanted to play a game, so he dodged her hand and went running playfully down the hill. "_Okay, now I'm screwed…_" Kiba looks at her and says,

"I'm so sorry; he's not usually like this with people. He must really like you."

"Thanks...I think…but I have to get that bandanna back." Kaze said as she started to run down the hill. Then she saw Kiba running next to her. "I can get it myself, you don't need to help."

"No, he's my dog; I'll do what I can."

"No really I can…ahhhh." Akamaru came up from behind her and jumped on her back. She fell onto Kiba and their lips met. Kaze tried to get off him after she jerked her head away, but Akamaru was on top of them, showing no signs of getting off soon. Kaze turned bright red and muttered an apology while trying to push Akamaru off, but he was way too heavy.

"Akamaru get up…" Kiba grunted his cheeks as red as Kaze's, but Akamaru didn't move. Kiba looked at Kaze and their eyes met. Kiba began to think. "_I'm sure I've seen those eyes somewhere before, but where_?" As he stared into her eyes, the world suddenly turned blue. It was Kaze's bandanna; Akamaru dropped it on his face. Kaze gasped and he could feel her arms underneath him trying to free themselves to get the bandanna off of his face. He could tell that the way she struggled, she didn't want him to see something that was on the bandanna. Kiba squirmed his head in order to move the bandanna around. It slipped and a white symbol flashed before his eyes. He recognized it!! It couldn't be, could it? "_Obake._" The bandanna was lifted off his face by Kaze's teeth and he saw her eyes were filled with a hope that he didn't find out, but fear that he did. "_Why is she scared that I'll find out that she'd the last Obake? Does she not want anyone to know? Why?_" Kiba looked into those confusing eyes, letting her know that he knew without a single word. She spit the bandanna out and she said,

"Please, don't tell anyone…please, Kiba." Kaze looked as though she was about to go to prison just for being an Obake. Akamaru yipped playfully as he continued to lay on the two ninjas. Kiba found that he had no idea what to say.

"_Sure? No?_ Long time no see." Kiba felt incredibly stupid for saying that. Kaze looked at him strangely, and then she started to giggle uncontrollably.

"Yes…hahaha…it has been a while, hasn't it?" Kaze said as she continued to laugh. Then she smiled at him and she disappeared into Akamaru. Akamaru got up and Kiba pushed himself off the ground to look for Kaze. He turned to Akamaru and noticed that his normally squinty eyes were open and they were blue…and green. Then Akamaru lay down on the hillside and Kaze seemed to float out of him. She brushed herself off and turned to Kiba. Her bandanna was turned with the symbol showing and was around her neck. Her band around her hips was a Konoha band with a slash through it. She was herself and he saw she was happy. He blushed a little when he realized that he loved this happy Kaze. He loved her when they first met, and he loved her now. He walked over to her and gently hugged her.

"Kaze, I love you." Kaze looked shocked at first, but she eventually brought her arms up slowly around Kiba and closed her eyes to drink up the moment. *BAM* Akamaru seemed to want to join the hug too and he pushed the couple to the ground again. The two laughed and Akamaru got up as soon as Kiba asked him too. Kaze and Kiba both blushed as they got up. Kaze looked at Kiba, then behind him. She then quickly turned around and grabbed her bag.

"Sorry, Kiba, I have to go." Kiba looked behind him and saw Shino and Hinata making their way towards him. When Kiba turned back around to say goodbye to Kaze, she was already gone. There was nothing but the wind blowing gently across his face to let him know that it was not a dream.

*


End file.
